Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Paul Williams continued to stake his claim to fame against a returning "Winky" Wright and Arreola trudged through another heavyweight victim on his quest for a major title. Plus, one favored champion had an eventful night in the ring...

:Sat.04.11.09:
Paul Williams UD Ronald Wright (Middleweight) [HBO]--When the fight was first announced, I was dreading it and was certain that it would turn out to be the most boring in some time. I based this on some of Paul Williams' past fights, which were methodical but unexciting, and on Wright's defensive style (and admittedly, after Byrd-Williamson, I'm apprehensive about any potential duds), but thankfully this past Saturday night, that was completely the opposite case. Both fighters made for a good "action fight", with Wright actively engaging a crisp Williams for much of the match.

Sure, "Winky" was off for nearly two years, at a total physical disadvantage, and around a decade older than "The Punisher", but he fought quite better than expected given the circumstances and even matched him in terms of thrown/landed percentages. That is, until you take into account that he was outgunned nearly 2:1, with Williams throwing more than 1000 punches. Williams looked great and fought very, very well, making effective use of his physical attributes and talent and his combo work. However, it's hard to dismiss the fact that he was in no real danger against an older, albeit masterful, fighter with light-punching power--and he has yet to face someone with both skills and power. Williams deserves a pass this one time, though, due to Wright's stature and his competitiveness, though it's not a given yet that he'll plow through the likes of Pavlik and Abraham in the higher weight classes, or even Mosley down below.

[c] WBC Continental Americas, NABF Heavyweight Champion Chris Arreola KO4 Jameel McCline (Heavyweight) [HBO]--Speaking of younger fighters up against veterans, Arreola made relatively quick work of also-ran McCline. To give him due, the champ looked better both physically (despite staying near a career-high weight) and skill-wise, but too often did he allow the supposedly-retired McCline to land good flush shots on him. He still has a long way to go before challenging for a major championship and he's still raw, but at least he's improving. Sorry, Larry Merchant, but he's not the "second coming" and he would be ideal target practice for either Klitschko as he is, but he might have a better chance if he tightens his skills and employs good defensive tactics(guarding, bob-&-weaving, etc.). Not sold yet, but there is some promise...

[C]WBA Super Flyweight Champion Nobuo Nashiro TKO8 Konosuke Tomiyama--It seemed like a bad night for champion Nashiro, who escaped with a resounding TKO over Tomiyama in the eighth. According to the report, Nashiro was shaky in the beginning rounds, even going down in the first, and had the momentum pulled from under him in the sixth by another knockdown. He was losing a close fight on the scorecards until the eighth round, which saw him exact revenge by flooring a buzzed Tomiyama and swarming him en route to the referee's stoppage of the fight.